Students split over senate

SEMARANG, Central Java: Diponegoro University students split into two opposing camps over the establishment of a controversial student senate.

Those opposed to the senate held a demonstration on Wednesday and those who support it conducted a counter rally on Thursday.

Students against the senate said the government-sponsored institution is undemocratic and aimed at silencing students.

Nurhidayat, a spokesman for the students supporting the senate, said that the institution is well-intentioned and will be a voice for their interests. However, the body, he admitted, won't be as democratic as the student forum was in the 1970s.

"It's the students' task to make the senate powerful and maximize its function," he said in Thursday's protest.

Meanwhile, the university's rector Muladi warned that although students are free to express their ideas, they should not use the campus for political activities. (har/05)